P-I archive: A brief history of Canlis restaurant

Today from the Seattlepi.com archive we have a brief history of Canlis restaurant at 2576 Aurora Avenue North.

The history is included in an article I wrote for Thursday about the search for 1950 menus to mark the restaurant’s 60th anniversary. People who find the menu get to eat at 1950 prices.

The P-I’s first mention of the restaurant appeared in a gossip column, Sept. 24, 1950. Read that here.

The column said the Seattle restaurant opening later that year would have an orchid bar with flowers flown in daily. The steaks were expected to be broiled “to an epicure’s taste.”

The first big Canlis article came in January 1953 as a response to a rumor that had frustrated owner Peter Canlis. For nearly a year, a rumor circulated that he gave card to certain patrons asking them not to come back because they didn’t eat or drink enough or didn’t wear proper attire.

“Everyone says it happened to a friend of a friend,” Canlis told the P-I that month. “Time after time I have gone patiently back from story-teller to story-teller to fine the source, but never with any success.”

When the restaurant debuted a new look in 1958, Canlis took out a special advertising section in the P-I describing the space, food and drinks. Read a PDF of that section here.

When the restaurant celebrated its 30th anniversary in 1980, the Canlis family invited 150 senior citizens for a free dinner. Several dressed in tuxedos or fur coats and rode in a limonene donating the ride.

Some nursing homes held drawings for who would get to. One man hadn’t been to a restaurant in 15 years. Another, former vaudeville performer Charles Monroe, was there for a second time – his first was the night Canlis opened in 1950. Both times he had a steak.

The March 1958 photo caption read: Manager Rudy Valiani checks wine in (the) new wine cellar selection. Canlis,’ which does an outstanding business in wine service, stocks an almost equal amount of foreign and domestic wines to suit customer preferences. Rack pictured handles red wines and champagne. New selection also includes refrigeration for white wines, ice bin storage for wine glasses. [Marks were made by a former P-I photo editor.] (Seattlepi.com file)